Vaccination Rates

Vaccination Rates

When it comes to vaccinating children, we support and follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the leading professional organization for pediatricians. We advise all families to immunize their children according to the AAP's schedule, and we strive for 100% vaccine coverage among children who visit our primary care practice.

Published research and our own firsthand experience have shown us that immunization helps protect children from many common infections, which in some cases can lead to serious and even life-threatening complications. Immunization also prevents children from passing these infections on to others, including their parents and other family members.

How are we doing?

We track the immunization rates of children between the ages of 2 and 3 who are seen in our Primary Care Center, which provides general pediatric care to more than 15,000 infants, children and young adults each year. Our annual vaccination rates are above 90% —higher than the national and state average (as estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and include families who decline vaccines or arrive after age 1.

% of Patients Up to Date on VaccinesIncluding Families Who Decline Vaccines or Arrive After Age 1

(Last updated: January 2018)

What are we doing to improve?

We're making an effort to identify children who are not up-to-date on their vaccinations as early as possible, paying special attention to those between the ages of 15 and 23 months — an age range in which children frequently miss vaccines. We've also begun closely tracking why children fall behind on their vaccines in the first place, to learn more about how to prevent it from happening.

How do we compare to other hospitals?

Not all hospitals share their immunization rates, so it's not possible to directly compare our rates with those of other children's hospitals. However, the Massachusetts and national averages, which group together a range of hospitals and other health care providers, offer a good benchmark for judging our performance.

Boston Children's Hospital has been named the #1 children's hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for the fifth year in a row! It's an honor that we could not have achieved without you. On behalf of every member of our Boston Children's team, thank you for inspiring us to be bolder, dream bigger, and make the impossible possible for our patients and families.